Why did tougher COVID restrictions help state economies?

In April 2020, with the pandemic in full swing, The Economist published: “A Grim Calculus: COVID-19 presents stark choices between life, death and the economy.” Soon Americans were blaming the lockdowns for recession and, in the words of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, “the destruction of millions of lives across America … without any corresponding benefit in COVID mortality.” Before the end of the year, some states, notably Texas, were ending COVID restrictions with the goal of improving their economic activity.